Character housing is important to the community
Althaus & Anor v Brisbane City Council – What’s the case about? The Planning and Environment Court delivered a decision in the case of Althaus & Anor v Brisbane City Council [2017] QPEC 41 which involved an appeal by Nathan and Laura Althaus against the Brisbane City Council’s decision to refuse their development application seeking a […]
ReadmoreVictorian Government implements first stage of environmental protection overhaul
The Victorian Government recently introduced a bill to parliament as the first stage of the long anticipated overhaul to Victorian environmental protection legislation. 1. Background In 2016, an independent ministerial advisory committee conducted an inquiry into the Environment Protection Authority Victoria (EPA). As previously reported by Partner, Meg Lee, and lawyer, Linda Choi, the […]
ReadmoreChanges to the Domestic Building Contracts Regulations
Effective from 1 August 2017 there will be a number of changes to regulations under the Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995 (Vic) (Act). Major Domestic Building Contracts Major domestic building contract is now defined as a domestic building contract where the contract sum is more than $10,000 (previously $5,000).1 If the contract sum for […]
ReadmoreCB Cold Storage
The Victorian Court of Appeal has now confirmed Croft J’s decision in CB Cold Storage Pty Ltd v IMCC Group Pty Ltd [2017] VSC 23 that a lease of a wholesale cold storage facility is a “retail premises lease” caught by the provisions of the Retail Leases Act (RLA), dismissing an appeal by the landlord […]
ReadmoreEnforcement orders issued to remedy significant risks posed by unlawful carport and photovoltaic solar panels structures
Gold Coast City Council v Bush & Anor – What’s the case about? The Planning and Environment Court delivered a decision in the case of Gold Coast City Council v Bush & anor [2017] QPEC 29 which involved an application made by Gold Coast City Council to the Court seeking an enforcement order under section 604 […]
ReadmoreApproval of an extension request for multiple unit residential development – consistent with current planning scheme and sufficient community awareness
Lake Maroona Pty Ltd v Gladstone Regional Council – What’s the case about? The Planning and Environment Court of Queensland delivered a decision in the case of Lake Maroona Pty Ltd v Gladstone Regional Council [2017] QPEC 25 which involved an appeal by Lake Maroona against the Gladstone Regional Council’s refusal of a request for […]
ReadmoreLand use code can still be incorporated to rating category description even though it is not approved by resolution
Ugarin Pty Ltd v Lockyer Valley Regional Council – What’s the case about? The Supreme Court of Queensland delivered a decision in the case of Ugarin Pty Ltd v Lockyer Valley Regional Council [2017] QSC 122 which involved a judicial review challenge by Ugarin Pty Ltd against the Lockyer Valley Regional Council’s decision relating to differential […]
Readmore3 residential towers approved on former ABC site despite significant conflicts with planning scheme
The Planning and Environment Court delivered a decision in the case of Bell v Brisbane City Council & Ors [2017] QPEC 26 which involved an appeal commenced by a submitter Kate Bell against the Council’s decision to approve, subject to conditions, a development application made by Sunland Developments No. 8 Pty Ltd. The development application […]
ReadmoreCommercial Building Disclosure – threshold halves from 1 July 2017 – Are you ready?
From 1 July 2017, the threshold for the compulsory Commercial Building Disclosure (CBD) of an office building’s energy efficiency will reduce from 2,000m2 to 1,000m2. The legislation, which commenced in 2010, requires most owners of office buildings to have a current building energy efficiency certificate (BEEC) before offering to sell or lease their property. The […]
ReadmoreLandlords again prevented from recovering Land Tax under pre-30 June 2009 commercial leases
On 16 June 2017, the Queensland Government passed changes to the Land Tax Act 2010 (Qld) dealing with a landlord’s right to recover land tax from tenants. The changes are a reversal of the decision in late 2016 in Vikpro Pty Ltd v Wyuna Court Pty Ltd ATF Wyuna Court Unit Trust [2016] QCA 225 […]
ReadmoreAlignment with the National Mortgage Form
In the last 12 months there have been changes to the processes for each land registry across Australia (collectively referred to as the Land Registry) to accommodate e-settlements as we move towards an ‘alignment’ of forms and procedures across all jurisdictions. The process of aligning all jurisdictions to using a uniform set of forms and […]
ReadmoreObjection to an expansion of issues in dispute results in an adverse costs order
The Planning and Environment Court in LMRM Pty Ltd v BrisbanCity Council [2017] QPEC 7 made an order that LMRM Pty Ltd pay the Brisbane City Council’s costs of and incidental to its application to expand the issues in dispute in the appeal, on a standard basis. The appeal related to the Council’s decision to refuse […]
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